Originally from the southern shores of Lough Neagh in County Armagh and now living and working in Connemara, County Galway, Barry Kerr is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and visual artist whose work is deeply rooted in Irish landscape, tradition and storytelling.

Over the course of an international career, Barry has toured extensively as a solo artist and collaborated with many of Ireland’s leading performers, including Steve Cooney, Cara Dillon, Lumiere and Dervish. His compositions have been performed and recorded by artists such as Damien Dempsey, Karan Casey, Flook, Jiggy, Beoga, Brian Finnegan, Damian O’Kane and Kate Rusby, becoming part of concert repertoires around the world.

Barry has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, and has appeared on multiple arena tours. He also toured the United States as principal uilleann piper with Celtic Thunder and symphony orchestra under the direction of conductor David Brophy.

Alongside his performing career, Barry has made significant contributions to Ireland’s cultural life. As Artist in Residence at Belfast’s Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts, he played a key role in developing and supporting the city’s thriving cultural scene. In 2020 he was awarded the inaugural Liam O’Flynn Award by the National Concert Hall and the Arts Council, leading to the creation of Cairn, released later that year. He was appointed Traditional Musician in Residence at University College Cork in 2023.

Barry’s diverse body of work reflects a continual exploration of music, place and visual expression. His releases include Boy in a Boat (2015), a collection of original songs; Castor Bay (2018), recorded with his sister Laura Kerr and guitarist Donogh Hennessy; Cairn (2020); and the multidisciplinary projects CEATHAIR and Continuum, which explore the relationship between visual art, storytelling and musical composition. His film Fuascail, a contemplative reflection on Ireland’s decade of centenaries, premiered on TG4.

His seventh studio album, Curlew’s Cry (2026), draws together original and traditional songs inspired by folklore, memory and the natural world. The album was named Folk on Foot‘s Folk Album of the Year in 2026, further cementing Barry’s reputation as one of Ireland’s most distinctive contemporary artists.

"Connemara-based singer and artist Barry Kerr’s Curlew’s Cry (Barry Kerr, ****) is beautifully performed and sung … It draws on the mythology of the curlew, a bird of sorrow and longing, whose song opens the album, pulling back successive veils on songs like ‘The snows they melt the soonest’ (rivalling Dick Gaughan’s definitive account) and a stunning ‘Lullaby for a lost child’ – songs deep and wide, of great intensity and emotional heft. To close are two wonderful ballads, ‘You Rambling Boys of Pleasure’ (an inspiration for Yeats) and the lone voice and guitar of ‘Sportsmen Bold’, which seal the deal on a superb album."

Songlines, December 2025 (review of Curlew’s Cry)

https://www.barrykerr.com/